stalling.

The toy closet needs to be organized. It's not a complete disaster, but we've had about 12 kids in there this week and things need to be put back where they belong. I don't mind the job once I get going, but I've been waiting for the motivation to hit me all day.

We just dropped Coop off with some friends for a pizza and movie night. When did he get old enough to do such things? We lucked out finding this fun group of boys. There are five of them and they are all darling. They are smart and kind and they have such a good time together. I will always be concerned that he is exposed to more than I am ready for him to face so time with great friends is welcomed by both of us.

Thankfully Seneca and Beckham think it's a party around here all the time and are happy to let their imaginations run wild together often. They go from princess talk to racing cars to creating obstacle courses for themselves one right after another. Playing stalled for a minute after Beckham leaped off a barstool aiming for couch cushion and missed, but he recovered quickly.

We went shopping for D's birthday today. I am not confident that our surprises will remain such until Monday. They already tried to tell him "secrets" on the phone. Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll forget about it, but it is not likely.

Dent is finally back in the valley after a few days in Supai. He's had a long travel day and we'll be glad when he gets home. Although props to me for holding it together happily while he was gone. Not to say he wasn't missed, but bedtime came around each night I wasn't ready to run away. That's progress, folks. I think we have extra angels lifting mom's patience when dad is gone.

All right, toy closet, here I come. I will conquer you within the hour. Ready? Go.